What's been missing all along
by Potter-Everdeen-Swan-Cullen
Summary: Katniss and Peeta are about to get married, but Katniss can't help but think that something is missing and has been for a long time. When she figures out what it is, will she be able to put it aside, or will it bring the end to the famous star-crossed lovers from the 74th Hunger Games?
1. Chapter 1: Something's missing

**Author's Note: **So, this is my newest story and my first story about Hunger Games. I had this idea after I realized that I only had Harry Potter stories. So, enjoy and favorite!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Hunger Games. I own this plot, but that's it. The rest belongs to the magnificent Suzanne Collins.

Chapter 1:

Katniss opened her eyes to see the light streaming in through the window in her bedroom. Well, her and Peeta's bedroom, that is. She sat up on her elbows and looked around. The covers were neatly made around her, but Peeta was nowhere to be found. She sighed and threw the covers off of her, only to get up and put them back nicely. She grabbed her favorite sweater and walked drowsily down the stairs, where she found Peeta sitting quietly at the kitchen table with breakfast and a newspaper.

"Hey, Katniss," Peeta said, looking up. Katniss smiled and walked over to Peeta.

"I was wondering where you were!" Katniss said before kissing Peeta quickly. She stood up and walked into the kitchen to make herself some eggs when Peeta turned to look at her.

"Oh, you can't tease me like that!" Peeta said.

"I didn't tease you last night!" Katniss said, winking. Peeta smirked and went back to his breakfast.

"So," Katniss said after minutes of silence. "I have to go today and try on wedding dresses. I called my mom, but after she moved to district 3 she hasn't really been in contact. She said she would come, but we'll see. I invited Johanna and Annie too." Peeta nodded. Annie and Johanna had been coming by a lot more now and he was glad Katniss had some more friends. After losing Gale and Prim, Katniss had been pretty reliant on Peeta for company. Not that he minded. The only problem is that he can't always be there.

"That all sounds good to me!" Peeta said. "Well, I have to get going to the bakery. We have a big cake order going out tomorrow and I don't think that Penelope or Rayne have gotten very far on it. See you later." Peeta went to go get his jacket, and then yelled, "Oh, if you need anything like helping picking something out or anything, just call the bakery. I'll send Penny or Rayne down to help." Then, Peeta left. Katniss sighed and went upstairs to take a shower and get ready.

Katniss sighed. It felt good to have the hot water running all over her. She washed herself all over and shampooed her hair before shoving her head under the water. She was sure that there were wrinkles underneath her eyes and she wanted them to be gone. After finishing in the shower, she got out and stepped into the body dryer that came with the house. There were definitely perks to living in the victor's village. After 5 minutes, she was completely dry and stepped out into her bedroom. The blinds were no closed, but the light was still streaming in. She walked over to her closet and found a sweat shirt and jeans to put on. Then, she put on her favorite hunting boots and went into the bathroom to French braid her hair and put on a little make-up. On her way downstairs, she glanced at the clock to see that she had 2 hours before her appointment. She smiled and went to the closet to pull out her favorite bow and arrow set and her old game bag. She locked all the doors and went out the basement door that had a direct route to the woods. Once inside the woods, she sighed and a huge smile spread across her face. She loved being in the woods. It relaxed her and lately, she could use a lot of relaxing. For weeks she had been feeling like something was missing from her life. She didn't know what it was, but when she entered the woods, it all went away. She breathed in the cold winter air and set off to the depths of the woods to find a nice deer or a rabbit or two. Then, just when she was losing hope in finding anything, she saw a huge deer sniffing the forest floor just feet in front of her. She smiled and shot the arrow she had kept loaded for so long. The arrow hit the deer right in the eye. That was he signature spot. Katniss smiled and hit the deer again, this time in the heart and then ran over to get the deer and her arrows.

After hauling the deer back to her and Peeta's house, Katniss put it in the basement and went to go get ready for her appointment. She had been gone longer than expected and hoped she wouldn't be late. After changing her shoes and re-doing her hair, she was ready to go and practically bolted out the door to go to her appointment.


	2. Chapter 2: An appointment and some fear

**Author' Note: **So, here is chapter 2. I've been getting a lot of good reviews about this story. I'm sorry vor lack of a plot so far, but I think you'll find it starts to build at the end of the chapter. So, enjoy and don't forget to review and favorite.  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Hunger Games. I didn't last chapter and I still don't.

Chapter 2:

"Katniss!" Annie cheered. Annie ran over to Katniss with her arms extended. Annie was followed by Johanna who was carrying Annie's son, Finn. Katniss hugged Annie, then hugged Johanna and Finn.

"Hey Finny! Who's my big boy?" Katniss said, taking Finn from Johanna. She loved to be with Finn, but that was only because the minute he got annoying or he started to cry, Katniss could hand him back over to Annie. Finn stared blankly at Katniss.

"Katniss, I'll take Finn. You need to go sign in and start trying on dresses. Katniss nodded and handed Finn to Annie.

"I'll be back!" Katniss said as the saleswoman led her to the back room.

When Katniss got to the dress room, she saw all her old Hunger Games stylists. At the center was Cinna **(A/N** **In this story, Cinna is still alive! Yay!), **then, behind him was Peeta's old stylist, Portia. Cinna smiled at Katniss and help his arms open. Katniss smiled and ran over yo Cinna. She hadn't seen him in what seemed like the longest time.

"Congratulations, Katniss!" Cinna said. Katniss smiled.

"Thanks!" She replied.

"Ok, so, let's go look at dresses." Cinna said. Katniss nodded and they set off to the rack with dresses that Cinna had already picked out. There were all kinds of dresses, no doubt all designed by Cinna. There were short ones and long ones, tight ones and loose ones. One immediately jumped out at Katniss. It was a long, white dress. It had partial sleeves and the fabric was placed in a manor that it looked like waves falling down the dress. The top of the back of the dress is lace and has pearl buttons. Katniss pulled it off the rack and smiled at Cinna. "I like that one too." Cinna said. Then, he pulled 2 more dresses that Katniss liked and they went to try them on.

After putting on Katniss' choice, she walked out to where Annie and Johanna were. Annie's jaw dropped and Johanna's hands went up to her mouth. "Oh. My. Gosh." Johanna said. Katniss smiled and twirled. She knew the white, synthetic flames would come out, but Annie, Finn and Johanna didn't. Finn smiled and Annie and Johanna stayed in their old positions.

"What do you think?" Katniss asked. Annie and Johanna both nodded.

"Well," Cinna interjected. "How about we try the other two on anyway?" Katniss nodded and picked the dress up to go back into the dressing room.

She came back with each of the dresses, but she couldn't get the first out of her mind.

"So," Cinna began. "What do you think?"

Katniss smiled. "The first dress!" Cinna smiled and helped Katniss out of the last dress and into the first one again. Then, the two of them walked out together.

"Guys," Katniss said. "This is the dress!" Annie, Finn and Johanna all jumped up and ran over to Katniss. They hugged her until Cinna pulled them off.

"Ok guys. I need to get the dress off of her! Our time here is running out!" Cinna said. Everyone nodded and Katniss went with Cinna to take the dress of. After getting re-dressed and all her stuff was taken care of, Katniss, Annie, Finn, and Johanna all went back to Katniss and Peeta's house. Around 2, Annie and Finn left. When they were alone, Katniss turned to Johanna.

"I can trust you, right?" Katniss asked.

"I'm offended that you would have to ask!" Johanna replied. Katniss smiled.

"Sorry, it's just. . . I have a problem and I need advice. See, ever since Peeta proposed to me, I've been feeling like something is missing. You know what I mean?" Katniss said. Johanna nodded.

"Do you have any idea what it is?" Johanna asked. Katniss shook her head. "Is it like, your mom, Prim, your dad?" Johanna asked. Katniss shook her head. "Katniss," Johanna began. "Is it Gale?" Katniss just sat there staring at Johanna.

"It could be, Johanna." Katniss said. Tears came falling down Katniss' face and Johanna frowned. She grabbed Katniss in a hug and held her there for the longest time.


	3. Chapter 3: Wedding Planning

**Author's Note: **I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in a while! I've been really busy with homework because I was trying to get ahead on homework so I didn't have any over break. I promise I will update more over break! So, enjoy the chapter and review and favorite.  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own the hunger games. I just own the plot of this story.

Chapter 3:

It had been weeks since that night between Johanna and Katniss. Since then, she had completely ruled out the thought of Gale being the thing that's missing. Her and Peeta were now 2 months from their wedding and had a lot to do. Even though they didn't have to buy most of their things, they still had to get them. Rayne and Penelope, Peeta's workers, would be in charge of the cake, Katniss would pick all her own flowers from the woods, Cinna and Portia were making all the dresses and tuxedos for free, Katniss and Peeta already picked out the wedding party (Johanna and Annie are bridesmaids and Peeta's brothers, Prig and Lark, were the groomsmen.). All they really had to do was find a place for the wedding. While Haymitch was in one of his drunken spells, he suggested the tourist sight that was made out of the 74th Hunger Games stadium. This caused Katniss to cry and Peeta to slap Haymitch. He didn't give anymore suggestions.

Johanna had suggested they go into the meadow, but Katniss turned this down. That would be too hard to work out. There wasn't any place in the meadow that was big enough for all their invited guests. In reality, there wasn't really anywhere in District 12 big enough for 150 people.

"Why can't we just take a bunch of people off the guest list and have it in the meadow or something?" Peeta had asked.

"We can't take anyone off! Obviously we need family, Effie, Haymitch, Annie, Finn and Johanna. I also invited Rue's family, Gale, Hazelle, Rory, Vick, Posy. Then, Effie and Haymitch made us invite a ton of people from the capitol. Effie invited all the surviving members of the Quell and their families, our styling teams from the games. . ." Katniss said, only to be interrupted by Peeta.

"Ok, I get it. Although I don't know why you invited Gale and his family." Peeta said.

"Don't start that! I invited them because they would hate to be left out. They still consider me family, even if Gale doesn't." Katniss said.

"Well, back on the topic, why don't we have it out here in the Victor's square? I mean, it isn't wide, but it's long. We had the length and we can just be the most important people up front so that they can see." Peeta said. Katniss thought for a second before saying,

"I guess that works. I like that idea better than any of the others we've gotten so far. Alright, it's a plan!"

Although, complications came with the plan that Peeta and Katniss liked about putting the most important in the front. Peeta and Katniss wanted all capitol people in the back, preferably so far back they couldn't see anything. Effie didn't agree though. She said that family would be first, then capitol people, then everyone else. Haymitch stayed neutral.

"Effie, Katniss and I don't really want all the capitol people intruding on our weeding. If we had it our way, they wouldn't even be coming. Why would we put them in the front rows?" Peeta said.

"Well, I don't see how you can put them in the back. This is the most anticipated wedding of the year, Peeta! You can't shut the capitol out!" Effie said.

After a very long discussion, Katniss, Peeta and Effie all came to an agreement. There would be two weddings. One would be for Katniss and Peeta's guest list and that would be first. Then, a week later, Katniss and Peeta would travel to the capitol and have one there for all of Effie's guests. Plus, Effie would plan the capitol wedding. All Katniss and Peeta had to do was show up.

After getting everything organized, Katniss felt much better about it al. She hadn't once thought about what could be missing and she felt that everything was finally falling into place. She knew that once she was married to Peeta, she would have all she needed. Peeta was all she needed.


	4. Chapter 4: The Hawthorne's

**Author's Note: **So, in honor of Christmas, I decided to update all my stories. I hope you like this chapter because this was the end of the fluff. Now, the story gets into the plot! Please read, review and favorite! It would really make my Christmas!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Hunger games. I just own the plot and the description of Vick. I changed it a little from the typical Seam look.

Chapter 4:

"Peeta!" Katniss screamed. "I thought I told you to get up and go see Haymitch!" Peeta groaned.

"Well good morning sunshine." Peeta replied, sarcastically. Katniss threw a pillow at him and he got up.

"I'm leaving now. If I come back and you're not with Haymitch, you'll be in even more trouble! The wedding is next week and you still have to fit for tuxedos!" With that, Katniss grabbed her purse and walked out the door. Today, she was going to see Gale's family and take them their monthly meat. Every month, Katniss took the Hawthorne's a big supply of meat. Without Gale, they had less food because Vick and Rory weren't hunters. They were better gatherers.

When Katniss got to the Hawthorne's house, she was greeted by Hazelle.

"Good morning, Katniss!" Hazelle said. Katniss smiled.

"Good morning Hazelle! I'm just here to drop of some meat." Katniss walked to the trunk of her car and opened it.

"Oh, I'll go get Gale and Rory to bring it inside." Hazelle said.

"Gale's here?" Katniss asked. A big lump rose in her throat. Hazelle nodded. "Ok, that would be great. Thanks." Katniss added. Hazelle walked inside and came back out followed by Rory, Vick and Gale. Rory was the second oldest and was just like Gale. He was tall, muscular, and olive-skinned and had short, dark, brown hair. Vick, on the other hand, was tall, but not muscular. Also, his hair was more of a sandy brown, which was highly unusual for people in the seam. They all smiled at Katniss as they came out.

"Hey there Katniss." Rory said. "Nice rock." Rory winked and Katniss blushed.

"What's up, Katniss?" Vick said. "I can't wait for the wedding!" Vick chuckled as Katniss' blush increased.

"Hi Catnip." Gale said.

"Hi guys. So, um the meat is here and in the back seat. This is a big buck that I found. Peeta and I would never be able to eat it before it spoiled so I figured you guys would like it." Katniss said. "Then, there's a bunch of rabbits and birds in the game bag in the back seat." The boys nodded and got all of the meat out of the car. Then, Hazelle invited her inside.

"You know, you don't have to do this, right?" Gale said.

"Well," Katniss said. "You're not exactly around ever since you abandoned your family. You can't let them starve and I enjoy hunting. I could never eat all the meat I catch."

"Excuse me? I didn't abandon them! I told them I was leaving and they refused to come. That's not abandonment." Gale replied.

"Gale, stop that! No arguing with Katniss a week before her wedding!" Hazelle reprimanded.

"Actually, I really should go run some errands. Sorry about that Hazelle." Katniss said.

"Oh, that's a shame. Well, we'll see you at the wedding, if not sooner." Hazelle said. Katniss nodded, hugged everyone except Gale and walked out to her car. When she got out there, she saw Gale walking out, so she got in faster and drove away fast. She didn't stop until she got all the way to the Victor's Village. When she got inside, she smiled. Peeta had gone to Haymitch's house after all. She went outside to join them when she saw Gale coming up the walk.

"Long time no see, Gale." Katniss said. Gale smiled sarcastically.

"Ha-ha, so funny. You left before I could tell you something." Gale said.

"What is that, Gale?" Katniss asked.

"I never got a fair chance." Gale said. "The only reason I'm here is to get you back. Just when I thought I had a chance with you, you went to the Hunger Games then Peeta swept you off your feet. I didn't get a chance to do this." Gale said. Then, he leaned down and kissed Katniss. Katniss' eyes shot open and she tried to push Gale off. He had a tight hold on her though. She was just about to knee his groan continuously when Peeta walked up and wrestled him to the ground.

"Who do you think you are?" Peeta screamed. Then, he punched Gale repeatedly.

"Peeta! Stop! You're better than that! Just let him go!" Katniss said. Peeta nodded and stood up. He walked over to Katniss and wrapped her in a hug.

"Are you ok, Katniss?" Peeta asked, concerned. Katniss nodded. Once they had successfully gotten rid of Gale, they went inside and sat together on the couch and watched TV. They fell asleep that night cuddling on the couch.


	5. Chapter 5: Encounter

**Author's Note: **I'M SOOOOOOOO SORRY! I'm a horrible author! I haven't updated since Christmas Eve! I saw that today and rushed to the computer to update! I've just had some bad writers block on this story. I feel like I'm moving the plot too fast, so I'm trying to take it slower. This might result in a few dull chapters, but I think the story will benefit from it. So, enjoy, review and favorite! Please!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _The Hunger Games_ or any of the characters. If only I did. . .

Chapter 5:

Katniss looked around and smiled. She saw Peeta standing in the hall and ran after him.

"Peeta! Come here!" She cooed affectionately.

However, when she ran towards Peeta, Peeta got farther and farther away. Then, all of a sudden, Gale was standing in front of Peeta, but he wasn't moving. Katniss paused and before she knew it, she was staring at Peeta.

"Katniss, what's wrong?" Peeta asked. Katniss looked around and saw she was in her living room again. She looked at Peeta and nuzzled her head into his chest.

"Oh, I had a nightmare!" Katniss whined. Peeta frowned and rubbed Katniss' head.

"I'm so glad you're here, Peeta. In my nightmare, you were so out of reach." Katniss said.

"I'll never be out of reach, Katniss." Peeta said. Katniss smiled and nuzzled into Peeta some more.

Katniss crept quietly through the woods. After Peeta had left for work earlier, Katniss had left to go hunting. She saw a rabbit hopping about and set her arrow.

"Katniss!" Katniss let the arrow go before the rabbit ran. She missed the rabbit and turned to yell at whoever was at the tip of the woods. It was Gale.

"Go away, Gale!" Katniss shouted.

"No! Not until you talk to me!" Gale called.

"Why would I want to talk to you?" Katniss asked. Then, she saw Gale running to catch up. She turned and ran off. However, there was a huge down slope that Katniss didn't expect. Katniss fell and went tumbling down the hill.

"KATNISS!" Gale yelled, panicked. Gale ran down the hill and continued to yell for Katniss. Katniss lay in a pile of leaves, unconscious after hitting her head on her way down. Gale had been searching for the longest time before e found Katniss.

"Katniss, wake up!" Gale said. "Come on, Katniss! Wake up! Please be ok, Katniss!" Gale said. After realizing that his attempts were useless, Gale picked up Katniss and her bow and arrow. He grunted as he realized the weight of everything, but continued to walk. He had to get Katniss home and try to wake her up. Gale made the hike up the hill, which in total was about a two mile hike. As he reached the tip of the forest, he was out of breath and still had a little to walk to Katniss and Peeta's house.

10 minutes later, Gale walked up to Katniss' house. "Shit!" Gale whispered. He didn't have anyway to get inside. He considered going to Haymitch's house next door for a key, but Peeta was coming down the road. Gale didn't like the look on his face, though. Peeta saw Katniss ad ran over to Gale.

"What did you do to her?" Peeta growled.

"I saw her in the woods, called for her and she ran away. Then, she fell down a hill. She must have hit her head. She's still alive, I know that much." Gale said.

"It's a good thing she's alive! If she's even the slightest bit hurt, you'll pay, Hawthorne!" Peeta threatened.

"Ok, I will. I just want her to be ok!" Gale said. "So, are we going to stand out here and argue all night or are you going to go in?"

"I'm going in, you're leaving. Give me Katniss!" Peeta said, after having opened the door. Gale gave Katniss to Peeta and Peeta walked inside. Once inside, he slammed the door in Gale's face.

"Real mature, Peeta!" Gale shouted. Peeta ignored this and carried Katniss up to the bedroom. He laid her on the bed and went to phone the doctor. During the call, Katniss began to stir. "Where am I?" Katniss asked.

"You're at home, Katniss." Peeta said.

"Peeta! Where's Gale?" Katniss asked. Peeta frowned and explained.

"I want to see him." Katniss said.

"Why? He's nothing but bad news!" Peeta said.

"Peeta, don't argue. I need to set Gale straight. If you won't call him over, I'm going over to his mother's house." Katniss said.

"No, you need to stay in bed. I don't want you to go anywhere until I'm sure you're ok." Peeta said. "I'll call, Gale." Peeta said. Peeta left to call Gale over and Katniss laid her head on her pillow and closed her eyes.


	6. Chapter 6: Unfriendly visit

**Author's note:** I realize I haven't been updating so much lately and I'm sorry. I changed my idea on the plot a litte, but it's not evident in this chapter. Hope you enjoy! PLEASE review and favorite!  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Hunger Games :(

Chapter 6:

"Katniss," Gale said. Katniss' eyes fluttered open. She saw Gale standing in the doorway with Peeta. Gale was smiling, but Peeta looked peeved.

"Can we get a minute?" Gale asked Peeta. Peeta started to reply, but he stopped. He rolled his eyes and left. Katniss almost called out to Peeta, but she changed her mind. She needed to talk to Gale.

"Gale," Katniss began. Gale went to sit on the bed and Katniss went to stand up. She didn't want this too come across wrong to Peeta. "I wanted to talk to you. You always pick bad timing and it ends up getting someone hurt. Here, we are both ok and safe. So, talk all you need."

"Katniss, I don't get it. I've loved you all my life and you chose him! We grew up together and we were each other's support in almost everything." Gale said. Katniss interrupted him.

"Peeta was too, but he was there in even a bigger time of trouble. You weren't in the Hunger Games. You don't understand me anymore, Gale. We are different. Peeta and I, we're the same!" Katniss said. She was standing by the door and she was almost sure she could hear Peeta laughing softly in the hallway.

"But we were the same. All I'm asking of you is to dig down and see if you can find those old similarities. See if there is something that could develop between us!" Gale said.

"Gale, I never liked you. I was never more than a friend. You wanted more. I didn't. I didn't then, I still don't now!" Katniss said.

"Why couldn't you tell me that years ago?" Gale said loudly.

"I didn't think I had to! I thought my engagement was proof enough that I didn't love you!" Katniss yelled. "I love Peeta! I love him with all my heart and he loves me!"

"See, Katniss, I don't buy it. I think that you don't love him! At the very least, he loves you more than you love him!" Gale responded. Katniss' jaw dropped and Gale laughed.

"What?" Katniss said.

"Do you and Peeta fight like this?" Gale asked, smiling. Katniss shook her head.

"Why does that matter?" Katniss asked.

"Have you ever heard the saying that every happy couple has fights and down moments? Well, looks like we are the ones fighting, not you and Peeta!" Gale replied.

"Peeta and I don't fight because there is nothing to fight about!" Katniss argued. "We are happy, you and I never will be!" Gale shook his head and stood up.

He walked to Katniss and started to whisper in Katniss' ear.

"Lover boy is at the door, so I'll whisper this. I love you and you love me. I'll be at that wedding, but I won't be in the audience. I'll be outside in my car. If you chicken out or realize your true feelings, come out and we can make a clean get away. If you don't come out, I'll come in to protest the marriage. I won't give up on you Katniss." Gale said. He grabbed Katniss' arms and looked straight into her eyes. "You have beautiful eyes." Gale added. He leaned closer to Katniss, but before he could kiss her, the door opened. Peeta walked over to them and put his arm against Gale's chest.

"I think it's time for you to leave." Peeta said. Katniss nodded. Gale shook his head and left.

"Thank you, Peeta!" Katniss said. "I just don't know how to handle him sometimes." Peeta nodded.

"I heard what you said, by the way." Peeta said. "About how you loved me and that we don't fight because we have nothing to fight about." Katniss smiled.

"It's true. I love you and I would never be in a relationship where fighting was how you showed your love!" Katniss said, laughing. Peeta wrapped Katniss in a hug and wobbled over to the bed. They fell onto the bed and lay cuddling for the longest time.

"Peeta," Katniss said. "Don't worry. I won't leave you and even if I did, it wouldn't be for Gale!" Peeta smiled and kissed Katniss' forehead.

"I'm glad!" Peeta said, smiling as he stared into Katniss' eyes. Gale was right. Katniss did have beautiful eyes.


	7. Chapter 7: Wedding Preparation

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I was low on free time and kind of hoping to get more reviews. Thank you to those who have reviewed, but PLEASE review if you haven't! I update faster if I'm motivated! Keep that in mind! So, enjoy the chapter.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Hunger Games, I only own the plot!

Chapter 7:

"Katniss," Johanna screamed. Katniss growled and rolled over to find Johanna, Annie, and Finn in her room, staring down at her.

"Today is the day!" Annie squealed. Katniss rolled her eyes and buried her head in her comforter. Johanna rolled her eyes and walked over to the other side of the bed. She crawled into Peeta's side of the bed and cuddled close to Katniss. Katniss smiled and went to lay her head on "Peeta's" chest. However, instead of finding Peeta's rock hard abs, she found Johanna's giant breasts. Katniss opened her eyes and screamed.

"JOHANNA! What the heck are you doing?!" Katniss yelled.

"Hey, it got you out of bed!" Johanna said, shrugging.

"Where's Peeta?" Katniss asked.

"He's at Haymitch's getting ready. The wedding is in 3 hours." Annie said. "You need to get ready too. We need to go pick up your dress from the tailors, so you need to shower while we are gone. We'll do you hair and nails when we get back." Katniss nodded and shooed everyone out so she could shower.

"Katniss, we're back!" Johanna chirped. Katniss came down the stairs with a towel on her head and ran over to the dress. She took it from Johanna and the group went upstairs. Finn sat in his play chair in he bedroom while Johanna, Annie and Katniss were at Katniss' vanity in the bathroom. Annie made Katniss sit and she quickly did her nails. She had attached fake nails first, though, because Katniss had a bad habit of biting her nails.

"Oh, and so you know, these are like rock solid. Biting them will probably only hurt your mouth, so I wouldn't try anything." Annie explained, while applying the nails. Then, she reached for the nail polish and Katniss tried to protest.

"You will not put that on!" Katniss declared. "You should be lucky I even let you put on the fake nails!" Annie frowned and yanked Katniss' hand back onto the table. She pulled out the brush and, with Johanna's help (Johanna was holding Katniss' arm down), she successfully got the lilac nail polish onto Katniss.

"Dress time!" Johanna said, hopping up to get Katniss into the dress. Katniss sighed and went to her room to get into the dress. She had hoped she would still love it as much as she had the first time.

After putting the dress on, Katniss walked up to the long mirror in her room. The dress looked just as good now as the first time. Annie walked over and handed Katniss a pair of gold heels. Katniss stepped into them and instantly stepped back out.

"What?" Johanna asked.

"Peeta is about the height of Annie and with the heels on, I'm a lot taller than Annie. I'll stick with the gold flats that I bought." Katniss said. She walked to her closet and reached for the box on her top shelf. She stepped into the shoes and nodded.

"So, I guess my hair is next?" Katniss asked. Johanna and Annie nodded and they all walked into the bathroom.

Johanna sat looking through pictures with Annie and Katniss before finding a hairstyle that they all liked. Johanna took a curling wand and curled all of Katniss' hair.

"Oh my goodness, Johanna! I look horrible!" Katniss cried.

"What? I'm not done yet, Katniss! Quit your whining!" Johanna replied. She took all of Katniss' curls and ran a brush through them. Once they had settled down, she put a gold headband on Katniss' head and nodded.

"Now I'm done!" Johanna said cheerfully. Katniss stood up and walked to her full body mirror. Looking from head to toe, she was surprised. She hadn't dressed up this much since the Hunger Games, and honestly, she thought she would look horribly out of place in her dress. She liked the way she looked though. The dress wasn't too girly, but it accentuated her curves nicely.

Wait, what was she saying? Accentuated? Katniss had never said "accentuated" before in her life. _All this make-up and perfume must be messing with my mind! _Katniss thought. Of course this made no sense, though. Katniss shook her head and turned back to her friends.

"I like it!" Katniss said. Johanna smiled.

"Alright! Are you ready to head outside?" She asked. Katniss looked at the clock. It was time to go outside.

"Let's do this." Katniss said. Annie smiled and Johanna tried not to tear up.

"I remember when I couldn't stand you!" Johanna said. "You were so naïve and little, but look at you now! You're so different!" Katniss smiled halfheartedly.

"Do I say thank you?" Katniss whispered to Annie. Annie shrugged.

Katniss stepped carefully down the stair of her and Peeta's house. Her palms were sweaty and her mind was racing. She attempted to use the railing, but her sweaty palms only slipped on the rail. After reaching the bottom, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Johanna opened the door and her and Annie stepped outside and went over to the aisle. Katniss found Haymitch standing outside her door waiting for her.

"Hello sweetheart," Haymitch said. Katniss nodded. Haymitch hooked arms with Katniss and they made their way to the aisle. Peeta stood at the end with a big smile on his face. When Katniss reached the aisle, the music started up and Haymitch began walking. Katniss tried to dig her feet into the ground, but Haymitch wouldn't have it. Before she knew it, she was walking very close to Peeta and Haymitch handed her off. Katniss looked into Peeta's eyes and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Peeta!" She whispered. "I love you!" Then, Katniss turned and ran far beyond the Victor's Village.

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry if you didn't like my little plot twist, but I needed something to spice it up a little. PLEASE Review and/or Favorite this story!


	8. Chapter 8: The Aftermath

**Author's Note: **I'm sorry if you didn't agree with last chapter, but I have a whole plan for this story, so if you want to see it play out, you have to trust me here. SOrry for a short chapter, i've had a long week and i'm tired so this is what I did to give a little update to the story.  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Hunger Games. It's a truly sad tale indeed.

Chapter 8:

Peeta's jaw dropped. Katniss had just run away. The love of his life, his girl on fire, had run away on the happiest day of his life. He took a step backward and tried to steady himself. After wobbling for a few seconds, it all went black and he no longer saw the sad crowd in front of him.

Peeta opened his eyes, and saw he was in his bed. He tried to sit up, but Johanna bustled in and made him lay back down.

"Peeta, I'm sorry, but you need to stay lying down. You hit your head on a tree and it was bleeding. The doctor fixed it, but he told us you need to be careful with your head." Annie said, walking into the room with Finn. Peeta smiled as Finn giggled.

"Uncle Peeta!" Finn cheered.

"Hey there little man!" Peeta said. Annie put Finn on the bed and he wobbled over to Peeta. He sat next to Peeta and played with his toy while Peeta talked to Annie and Johanna.

"So, where did she go? Have you found her?" Peeta asked. Both women shook their heads.

"Haymitch is out looking for her, but we haven't heard from him in hours." Annie said sadly. Peeta frowned and tried to hold back tears. He failed at this, though, and Johanna went to hug him.

"Peeta, I'm sorry. We don't know what came over her." Johanna said. "She was just really nervous, she still loves you, we're sure of it. We'll find her, bring her back, calm her down and you guys will be married in no time." Peeta shook his head.

"It's all Gale's fault! He tricked her brain and now she's all confused because of him and his stupid mind tricks!" Peeta said. Johanna frowned and hugged Peeta tighter.

"Katniss, are you there?" Haymitch called. Katniss frowned and walked out from the dark of the alley.

"Haymitch, what have I done?" Katniss asked. "I don't even know what I was thinking! Peeta will never forgive me after this! Oh my gosh, Peeta! Is he torn up?" Katniss said.

"He fainted after you ran away." Haymitch said. Katniss frowned and burst into tears.

"I need to go talk to him. Let him know I'll be home soon. Don't tell him this, but I need to go talk to someone first." Katniss said.

"Gale?" Haymitch asked. Katniss nodded and walked away, towards gales house.

**Author's Note: **I realize that this ending is no better than the other chapter's ending, but it will get better, I promise.


	9. Chapter 9: Mending broken bridges

**Author's Note:** This si the last real chapter, but I will be posting an epilogue (soon hopefully). I hope you like this chapter, and thank you for all the readers that didn't stop readig when they got upset with the plot. Please review and favorite! It make me VERY happy!  
**Disclaimer: **I still don't own the Hunger Games! I didn't last chapter or the chapter before or the chapter before. . . you get the point.

Chapter 9:

Katniss had gone to her old house in the village and pulled off her dress, switching it for a pair of old hunting clothes. She had rebuilt this place after the bombing, unknown to anyone, as a place for privacy from everyone. She stepped out the back door and walked along the road, tears streaming down her face. She needed to go see Gale and set him straight. He needed to know how she felt for Peeta and that he had messed everything up.

She saw the lights from the house as she rounded the corner and sucked in breath. She dried her face and went to the door. She knocked on the old wooden door and waited. Hazelle appeared at the door and screamed.

"Katniss!" She said. She had seen Katniss run away at the wedding. She wrapped Katniss in a warm hug and rubbed her back.

"Do you need to see Gale?" She asked. Katniss nodded and she let Katniss inside. She pointed to the room Gale was staying in and Katniss crept down the hall. She knocked, but when she got no answer, she walked in. He was asleep on the bed and Katniss walked over to the bed.

She almost smacked him across the face, but she decided to leave a not instead. If she couldn't find the words to say, she didn't really want him to be awake, right? She found a piece of paper and set to writing her note. She wrote:

Gale,

You ruined everything. You came back and you fogged my mind up with doubts and you made me run out on my own wedding. I hope you're happy. I'm not and neither is Peeta. I just needed to say that you better stay the hell out of my life from now on! I don't want to see you ever again and if I do, well, let's just say, you don't want to know what will happen. I only hope I can repair the damages you have made. Without you, I never would have had these doubts. Now, though, that I've listened to these doubts, I find myself suffering from guilt! Even if I did still have feelings for you, Gale, they would have been long gone by now!

Katniss

Suddenly overcome with emotions, and foul words, she thought it best to end the letter there. She folded it up, wrote "Gale" on the front, and left it on the desk. She got up and swiftly left the room, saying goodbye to Hazelle as she left.

Katniss thought hard on her walk home on how to talk to Peeta. She decided it needed to happen tonight, but ho would she explain this? Surely he wouldn't understand that she was just confused. He would think, at this point, that she had gone to Gale and that he had lost her for good. She pondered analogies to use for her feelings, but to no avail. Finally, when she was just feet from her house, she had no choice but to wing it.

Katniss stepped inside the house and all the lights were off. She sucked in a huge breath of relief, only to see Johanna creep out of the bedroom door suspiciously. She saw Katniss and ran back in quick. Katniss stood frozen at the door and soon both Annie and Johanna came creeping down the stairs.

"Katniss?" Johanna whispered.

"Yeah, it's me." Katniss replied. Johanna nodded and got closer, before slapping Katniss across the face. Katniss staggered backwards and landed on the couch. She bit into a couch pillow in her best attempt not to scream. Annie quietly berated Johanna and went to Katniss.

"Why did you run away?" Annie asked, in a motherly tome. She hugged Katniss and Katniss hugged back.

"I was confused and nervous. You know, wedding jitters. It was worse than the Hunger Games because. . ." Katniss said, only to be interrupted.

"How is marrying me worse than the Hunger Games?" Peeta said, as he came down the stairs. Katniss stiffened up and let Peeta continue down the stairs.

"Peeta, I'm so sorry! I was just so nervous and Gale had been messing with my head. I wasn't thinking straight and everything was just a blur in my mind." Katniss explained. "And, no, marrying you isn't worse. I meant it was worse because my heart was beating ten times faster and I was ten times more nervous because I love you more than anyone in this room could ever know, or ever hope to know. I was so nervous because I loved you and that made me scared because of all that Gale had implanted into my head!"

"So why are you here? Why aren't you with Gale?" Peeta said angrily. Katniss bit her lip.

"I already told you! It's because I love you more than anything in the world. Yes, I went to go see Gale, but only to tell him to leave me alone! I had to do that; I couldn't just leave him alone!" Katniss said.

"You couldn't have gone after the wedding?" Peeta yelled.

"No, I couldn't! I had to do this now because. . ." Katniss began.

"What?" Peeta said.

". . . because . . . maybe part of me needed to say goodbye to Gale before I could marry you! Part of me still held on to the past I had with Gale as my best friend and I needed to say goodbye to that before I could marry you, otherwise I would never be able to live with myself!" Katniss screamed. She buried her face in her hands and soon felt hands rubbing her on the back. She looked up expecting to find Johanna or Annie rubbing her back, but instead she saw Peeta.

His face had gone from cold and angry to soft and apologetic.

"I'm so sorry, Katniss. I was so heartless about this. I know all this stuff with Gale has been hard for you, but you should have said something when you ran off. I mean other than you were sorry and that you loved me. At that moment, I heard you say it, but I didn't really believe it. Now that I see you braking down like this, though, I know you mean it and I feel like a fool for thinking some of the things that I thought about you earlier!" Peeta said. "I'm really sorry, Katniss. I love you too!" Peeta wrapped Katniss in a huge hug and Katniss nuzzled her head into his chest.

Moments later, Peeta stood up and got down on one knee in front of Katniss.

"Katniss Everdeen, will you marry me . . . again and for real this time?" Peeta asked, half joking, half serious. Katniss laughed and nodded.

"Of course I will Peeta!" Katniss said. She got up and hugged Peeta before pulling out to give him a kiss.

She felt at home now. She didn't have any fears and she felt complete knowing that Peeta would still take her back after all she had put him through.


End file.
